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Philanthropy & Funding - Articles
New and innovative ideas to help nonprofit leaders raise money, and to help funders and donors give more effectively (more)
The “Other” Investment Policy Statement
By adapting a tool traditionally used for managing financial portfolios, philanthropists can develop a roadmap to giving, where returns are measured in social good rather than in dollars and cents.
Pay-What-It-Takes Philanthropy
Grantmakers should provide enough money for nonprofits to pay for all their operations, not just programs and services.
Funding Infrastructure: A Smart Investment for All
Why building a strong philanthropic and nonprofit infrastructure matters to social impact, and how donors can support it.
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Making Markets Work
Foundation leaders consider the strengths, limitations, and potential of program related investments (PRIs), a form of impact investing intended to further a foundation’s programmatic and charitable goals.
Upending Social Investments
Many philanthropists don’t seriously consider the sustainability of social programs, while public funds often go to projects with no proven record. To be more effective, philanthropists should fund more early scaling efforts, and then hand off successful projects to public payers.
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If We Want Our Funding to Change the World…
Grantmakers and nonprofit leaders at the Donors Forum—an annual convening in Illinois to advance social change institutions—discuss the real cost of running an effective nonprofit and why it is essential for grantmakers to support indirect costs.
Venture Philanthropy for the Arts, for Innovation
Cultivating our society’s most creative thinkers like venture capitalists—supporting them early, continuously, and strategically—can lead to social impact far beyond the art world.
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Great Management Creates Great Impact
Philanthropist Josh Bekenstein of Bain Capital explains how philanthropists unwilling to cover nonprofits’ indirect or overhead costs are missing the opportunity to completely support that organization’s mission.
Four Questions to Ask Before You Engage with a Network
Funders want to create big change by using networks for social impact. But where to start?